Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum criticized protesters who took part in the March For Our Lives demonstration for gun control for not taking enough personal action to solve the problem of gun violence.
“How about kids instead of looking to someone else to solve their problem, do something about maybe taking CPR classes or trying to deal with situations that when there is a violent shooter that you can actually respond to that,” he said.
When question whether protesting was taking action, Santorum said, “they took action to ask someone to pass a law. They didn’t take action to say how do I has an individual, deal with this problem.”
“They didn’t take action to say how do I, as an individual, deal with this problem. ‘How am I going to do something about stopping bullying within my own community? What am I going to do to actually help respond to a shooter?’ ” he added.
Hundreds of thousands of protestors descended on Washington D.C. Saturday to demand changes to the nation’s gun laws. The march was organized by survivors of the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, last month. Outcry from students, parents, teachers and lawmakers has failed to spur Congress to enact sweeping changes to gun control laws many are requesting.
Nearly 200,000 people attended the march in Washington while some organizations estimated that more than 850 events took place all over the world, including in all fifty U.S. states. Marchers in countries as far away as Israel, New Zealand, Australia, the U.K., Japan, Belgium, India, France and Chile also participated.
Marchers demanded stricter gun laws including comprehensive background checks on all gun purchases, and a ban on assault weapons. The marchers were protesting gun violence in schools, but the movement expanded to include victims of gun violence more broadly.
Santorum said that CPR classes or stopping bullying within communities “are the kinds of things where you can take it internally and say ‘here’s how I’m going to deal with it, here’s how I’m going to help the situation’ instead of going and protesting, saying ‘Oh, someone else needs to pass a law to protect me.'”
Santorum also criticized the protesters for demanding more restrictive gun measures, saying “phony gun laws” won’t solve the issue.
The former Senator was heavily criticized for his comments including by many doctors who called his comments “uninformed” and “unconscionable.”
“Gobsmackingly uninformed. Rick Santorum ‘instead of looking to someone else to solve their problem, do something about maybe taking CPR classes or trying to deal with situations that– where there is a violent shooter.’ perhaps best to leave #publichealth and #medicine to #docs,” wrote Dr. Heather Sher on Twitter.
“As a surgeon, I’ve operated on gunshot victims who’ve had bullets tear through their intestines, cut through their spinal cord, and pulverize their kidneys and liver. Rick Santorum telling kids to shut up and take CPR classes is simply unconscionable,” Dr. Eugene Gu posted.
Legislation that bolsters the nation’s firearm background check system and provides federal funding to states to address mental health issues and anonymous reporting systems for violence, as well as funding for physical fortifications like metal detectors and response technologies for law enforcement, was included in a massive spending bill signed into law last week.
Other measures, including bills expanding background checks and issuing protective orders against gun possession, have also been introduced in Congress. It is unclear though, when, or if, any additional gun-related bills will be voted on in Congress.